


Measure of a Man

by kaibagirl



Series: Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition (S8) [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: England (Country), F/M, Flowers, Fluff, Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-26
Updated: 2020-04-26
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:47:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23860291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaibagirl/pseuds/kaibagirl
Summary: Lily used to hate James, but she doesn't now. 7th year has ended, and James wants to take her somewhere. What will happen?
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter
Series: Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition (S8) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1700263
Kudos: 5





	Measure of a Man

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CrashingPetals](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrashingPetals/gifts).



> I'm gifting this work to you because it's largely based on your representation of James Potter. I absolutely love Vivicendium, I think it's one of the best Sirius Black fics I've ever read. Thank you for writing it, and I hope you enjoy this story!
> 
> To the rest of you, if you haven't read CrashingPetal's Vivicenium, what are you doing here? Go read her work! You may stay a while, but I promise you won't regret it.
> 
> Hope you all enjoy!

_ “Behind every great man is a woman rolling her eyes.”  _ — _ Jim Carrey _

James Potter always thought of himself as a kind, caring individual. Combined with humor, charisma, and uncommonly good looks, he was very close to perfection. He could not understand why Lily hated him when they met.

Of course, in his eyes, she was also perfect— even more so than himself. Sweet, smart, and fiery. Absolutely gorgeous as well, with deep, sparkly green eyes, hair rivaling the color of the reddest rose ever seen. And that’s what she was— a perfect, fiery, red rose with a thorny personality to match.

Except that her name was Lily. Therefore, the metaphor shall be adjusted as such. She was a beautiful, fiery, red  _ lily _ .

Regardless of why she used to hate him— she claimed he was an arrogant toerag, which obviously meant she was playing hard to get, albeit for an overly extended amount of time— she said yes to a date, near the end of 6th year.

From there, things improved significantly. As they went on more and more dates, she got to know him better. Despite the fact that he was still  _ immature, _ for want of a better word, he improved. He was loyal, selfless, and sweet. As the end of the 7th year came, he was surprisingly mature, like an adult. Of course, the pranks never ceased, but that’s beside the point.

Thanks to the pranks, however, he was great at surprises.

Nearly a month after they graduated, James came knocking on Lily’s door. They had a date that day, but the location was unknown to Lily. He told her it was to be a surprise. She tried to trick him into telling her where they were going, but he wouldn’t say a thing, only grinning when she asked.

She looked absolutely  _ stunning _ , clad in a deep green sundress— sacramento green, he recalled— that complemented her eyes. She also wore a leather jacket that Sirius bought her for her birthday. Loosely curled hair framed her beautiful face, and she gave him a stunning smile.

Even after a year of dating, one pure smile from her was enough to turn him into a stuttering mess. He handed her one beautiful, almost perfect red rose.

“Er, the florist was fresh out of lilies, and I thought— I thought you would like the rose,” he said quickly.

“I love it,” replied Lily, smirking at how nervous he was. The only thing he really wasn’t good at was hiding his emotions. For a while, he thought it was a Gryffindor thing, but Sirius was a Gryffindor and was careful with showing his emotion, unless the emotion was too strong, like surprise, for example. Even that was covered up quickly, after the initial shock.

A heartbeat later, James offered her his arm.

“Where are we going?” asked Lily, as she linked her arm with his.

“You’ll see,” he said, grinning at how curious she looked. “We’re apparating though, so you might want to hold on tight.”

Before they apparated, James put on his sunglasses, the ones Lily loved the most.

***

The reason they were apparating is because James didn’t own a car, nor did he know how to drive one. No matter what argument Sirius used on him, he thought brooms were superior, and that was that. Unfortunately, lugging around a broom on a date would be rather difficult. Sirius rolled his eyes when James confided to him about that, muttering an ‘ _ I told you so _ .’ James probably didn’t hear him, because he was too worried about making everything perfect for his  _ Lilyflower _ . Even though he promised to stop calling her that, it couldn’t help but slip out every now and then.  _ It was a habit _ , he insisted.

He’d debated on taking her to Pembrokeshire Coast, but as it was nearing autumn, he didn’t want her to get cold by the sea.

Instead, he decided he would take her for a walk in Peak District. Sirius recommended it, and gave James a tour so he knew where to go.

As the season was somewhere between summer and autumn, the leaves were turning colorful. It was a beautiful sight, vivid reds, oranges and yellows mixed with a lot of green.

He thought it was the right choice to take her there at this time of year. He considered taking her sometime during spring, but it was too long to wait, and possibly a bit too cold.

She seemed to be at peace, smiling at her surroundings. He wished he could take her into his arms and kiss her, right there and then, but there was something he had to do first.

The forest path was beautiful, he knew that. But he couldn’t take his eyes off his gorgeous, radiant  _ Lilyflower _ .

Eventually, she noticed his staring, and squeezed his arm.

“You alright?” she grinned.

“Yes, I just want to show you something,” he replied, slightly breathless.

“And what are you going to show me?” she asked, amused but  _ very _ curious at the same time. She reminded him of a cat, as she had the curiosity of one.

“You’ll see,” he whispered.

There was a waterfall up ahead, surrounded by goldenrod, helenium, iberis, and other flowers James did not recognize. He took her soft, strong hand and led the way.

He took off his sunglasses and put them on his head.

Getting down on one knee, he pulled out a black velvet box. Lily gasped.

“Dearest Lily, I’ve had a crush on you since the day we met. Now, I’ve come to the conclusion that I truly love you. Your smile makes life worth living. I promise to keep you safe, and I swear I’ll stay by your side,  _ always _ ,” he paused, heart racing. “I must know… Will you marry me?”

She had tears in her eyes, which alarmed James. He was beginning to feel that it wasn’t such a good idea to propose, that it was too early.

Wiping away her tears, she gave him the biggest, sweetest smile he’d ever seen on her.

“Yes,” she whispered, voice full of joy. “It’s wonderful to know you love me too. It feels like a dream.”

In his haste to get up, his sunglasses flew off his head. Lily giggled softly, but he ignored the sunglasses— they weren’t that important anyway— and embraced her. 

“This dream was built to last. No matter where the future takes us… Let’s write the next chapter of our lives together. I love you.”

"And I you. Our love is eternal, somehow I just know it. If one of us dies in this accursed war, and cross paths again in a distant future, in another life… promise you'll remember me,” Lily said, voice uneven. It took a great effort on James’ behalf to not start sobbing into her shoulder.

“Yes, of course,” he replied, closing his eyes.

“I— I know I’ll remember you,” she started to sob. James broke down in tears as well, though he cried harder than Lily. He pulled her closer, kissing the top of her head.

He would die for her. He would do anything to keep her safe. If only he didn’t have to, in the end.

***

As Voldemort sent the curse that would end his life, the only thing that he could think of was the green of  _ Avada Kedavra _ . His wife and son both had eyes similar to that color, and he would never see them again.

His final thought was directed to his two loves.

_ Remember me, I’ll remember you. _

**Author's Note:**

> Prompts:
> 
> Write about a character who possesses many talents.  
> [Object] Sunglasses  
> [Word] Curious  
> [Plot Point] Exploring a new place


End file.
